This invention relates generally to devices for transporting personal items and more particularly to a wearable device for holding items of personal property, such as cell phones. The use the cell phones has increased at an extraordinary rate over the past decade. Approximately fifty percent of the population of the United States has a cell phone. It is common to see people, male or female, young or old, at play or at profession, at school or in the business world, using a cell phone in public, in a vehicle or in other places. People use cell phones to conduct business, to talk to friends, to keep in touch with family members and perform virtually any task that can be performed by a business phone or home phone.
In a like manner, the use of portable compact disc players as well as other types of electronic devices, such as digital music players (MP3, miniature disk and the like), hand-held email and/or internet access devices, have also become very pervasive in society. People enjoy listening to music while walking from the train to work, while jogging or performing virtually any exercise in or out of the home. Of course, along with these types of electronic devices, people transport other items of personal property on a regular basis, such as makeup, a comb or hair brush, address books, sunglasses as well as other items.
In each of these instances, it is obviously awkward for a person to have to hold in their hand one or more of the above mentioned items for a prolonged period of time. For this reason, various devices have been developed that allow a person to more conveniently transport personal items. Students often use backpacks to transport books and other school items, wherein the backpacks usually contain smaller pockets for storing the items listed above. It is also common for people to carry these types of personal items in a briefcase. Still further, women commonly use purses to carry makeup and other items, such as cell phones.
A need has arisen however for people to have more immediate access to certain items than is typically provided by a backpack, briefcase or purse. When a person receives a cell phone call, it is cumbersome for the person to open up a briefcase, purse or backpack, find the phone and answer it before the person calling hangs up. A person using a portable compact disc player may find it cumbersome to have headphone wires extending from and pulling on the person's head because they run to the disc player located in a backpack or briefcase.
People often desire to keep certain items, such as makeup or cigarettes in a place that is readily and immediately accessible. A backpack, briefcase or purse does not in many instances provide sufficient accessibility. Further, a backpack, briefcase or purse may not provide the level of security or access for carrying important items, such as wallets, medicine, passports and the like, for example, while in an airport or traveling abroad.
Cell phones, beepers and the like have in the past been attached removably to one's pants or belt. This arrangement has a number of drawbacks. First, the device and in particular the cell phone, which in many cases includes an antenna that sticks upwardly from the top of the cell phone, jabs one's stomach area and ribs when fixed to one's waistline. The device can be even more uncomfortable when one sits or bends at the waistline or for overweight people. Cell phones that swivel with respect to a person's belt have been provided but tend to come loose easily from the belt.
The devices can also act to restrict the movement of a person who tries to avoid the discomfort caused by the device being stored at or near the waistline. Further, due to the regular activity that occurs at or near the waistline, such as, twisting or sitting, removing items from a pocket, bumping into other people, fixtures and other items that may crowd a person, the current method of holding a cell phone or other type of device on the pants or belt of a person is prone to causing the device to become damaged or dislodged. Cell phones also pose a danger to people when used by a person who is driving.
Elderly people, people confined to a wheelchair and people with medical ailments may have an increased need to be close to a readily accessible telephone. Cell phones enable people in such conditions to travel safely outside the range of a cordless telephone. It would therefore be beneficial to make cell phones more accessible to people with such needs.
For each of the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a device, which is comfortable to use, and which allows ready access to personal items.